Axel May, edited by Gauthier Delomez
modified to
8:03 a.m., February 19, 2023
At the world ski championships, will the counter of France remain blocked at the only two medals gleaned by Alexis Pinturault? The last chance to raise this counter will be this Sunday with Clément Noël, Olympic champion in men’s slalom, an event which will close the competition co-organized by Courchevel and Méribel.
For now, at these home world championships, the fourth in its history, France owes its medals to one man: Alexis Pinturault. The Courchevel skier won the combined title last week in the combined and tanned in the Super-G. Will the slalomer Clément Noël do like the Beijing Olympics, get out of his box on D-Day for the men’s slalom, the last event of the competition co-organized by Courchevel and Méribel?
What is certain is that the Vosgien is the only Frenchman, boys and girls, and all disciplines combined, to have won a World Cup event this season, at the end of January in Schladming in Austria. Here’s to the smiling side. On the other hand, on the grimace side, he gave up four races this winter.
Find the spirit of Beijing
But a year ago, before his Olympic coronation, Clément Noël was not in a better sporting situation: “The state of mind that I had found in Beijing was to dare, to take risks The races I had done before had not necessarily given me confidence, on the other hand in training I was skiing well and I told myself that there was an opportunity to be seized, and that I was going to have to take risks”.
Clément Noël adds: “There, it’s a bit the same (…) I really have to put myself in this state of mind”. In short, it will be quits or double for Clément Noël. As for Alexis Pinturault, he will compete in the last world slalom of his career, he who wants to focus more on speed disciplines.